1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a method of mounting a connector on a panel. In particular, this invention relates to an improvement of the method of mounting a connector on a panel in an office appliance, such as a copier/duplicator, or a printer, or a household appliance, and the like, which has a cover to an interior that is opened and closed or which has a member that is frequently detached during the time the appliance is out of order. In such situations, the connectors that engage with one another are respectively mounted on a stationary panel and a movable panel, which is opened from and closed to or detached from the stationary panel. This invention further relates to a connector assembly that improves the mounting operation of the connector.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, when connectors engaging with one another are respectively mounted on a stationary panel and a movable panel, such as a cover, which is opened from and closed to or detached from a stationary panel, as shown in FIG. 5, a female connector 2 is fixed on the stationary panel 1, and a male connector 4 is fixed on the movable panel 3, so that the cover may be attached to, opened from and closed to the stationary panel 1. In order to attach the connectors 2 and 4 respectively on the panels 1 and 3, a bolt hole is provided on each of the flange portions 2a and 4a, which extend outwardly from an outer periphery of connector housing of each of the connectors 2 and 4. Then, bolts 5 and 6 are inserted into bolt holes provided in the panels 1 and 3. The connectors 2 and 4 are fixed on the panels 1 and 3 by fastening with bolts 5 and 6 and nuts 7 and 8.
As described above, when the connectors 2 and 4 are fixed on both of the panels 1 and 3, respectively, and the movable panel 3 is moved toward and abuts the stationary panel 1, i.e. is moved in the direction as shown by an arrow in the FIG. 5, the connectors 2 and 4 engage with each other. However, when a large force is applied to the movable panel 3 when moving it to the engaged position, an impact force between the connectors 2 and 4 become large at the moment of engagement. Depending on the amount of the impact force, the connectors may be damaged.
Accordingly, in a conventional alternative, shown in FIG. 6, a base plate 9 is fixed to the stationary panel 1, and then the female connector 2, is coupled to the base plate 9 using a bolt 10 having a spring. In detail, after the base plate 9 is fixed to the stationary panel 1, the bolt 10 having a coil spring 11 is inserted into a through hole provided in the flange portion 2a of the female connector 2, and a through hole provide in the base plate 9. The coil spring 11 extends between the flange portion 2a and a bolt head portion 10a. Then, a nut 12 is threaded onto the end of the bolt 10 extending from the base plate 9 to secure the connector 2 on the panel 1. On the other hand, the connector 4 is directly fixed on the movable panel 3.
According to the construction as described above, when the movable panel 3 is moved toward the stationary panel 1 so that the connectors 2 and 4 engage with each other, even if a large application force of the movable panel 3 causes a large impact force between the connectors 2 and 4 at the time of engagement, since the connector 2 compresses the spring 11 and connector 2 moves back by the length L as shown in FIG. 6, the impact force can be reduced. Thus, damage to the connector 2 and connector 4 caused by the impact force can be controlled.
However, according to the method of mounting the connector on the panel as described above, when the connector 2 is mounted on the panel 1, since the connector 2 is mounted on the base plate 9 by using bolts having springs after the base plate 9 is fixed on the panel, the mounting operation of the connector to the panel is troublesome and time consuming. Thus, the efficiency of the mounting operation becomes very poor, which results in cost increases.
Further, since parts, such as the base plate, the bolt having the spring, and the nut, should be prepared when the connector is mounted on the panel, the management of parts also become complicated.
Accordingly, the present invention is provided in view of the above-described problems, and an objective of the present invention is to improve the mounting operation of a connector to a panel.
To achieve the above and/or other goals, the present invention provides a method of mounting a connector of a pair of connectors that are respectively mounted on a stationary panel and a movable panel, and that engage with one another. A first connector of the pair of the connectors is directly fixed to one of the stationary panel and the movable panel. A second connector is movably mounted on the other one of the stationary panel and the movable panel via a spring. The method of mounting the connector includes integrating the second connector with a base plate to form an assembly by using a bolt having the spring, prior to mounting the second connector on the one of the stationary panel and the movable panel, and fixing the base plate of the assembly on the one of the stationary panel and the movable panel so as to movably mount the second connector on the one of the stationary panel and the movable panel. To integrate the second connector with one of the stationary plate and the movable plate, the second connector has a flange portion that extends outwardly from an outer periphery of the second connector and that has a first through hole. The base plate has a second through hole that is aligned with the first through hole in the flange of the second connector. The bolt having the spring is inserted into the first through hole and the second through hole.
Preferably, the spring extends between the flange portion of the second connector and an end of the bolt extending from the flange portion of the second connector. A nut is threaded on the end of the bolt.
Alternatively, the spring can extend between a head portion of the bolt and the flange portion of the second connector. A nut is threaded onto the end of the bolt extending from the base plate.
The second connector, which is movably mounted via the spring, can be provided either on the stationary panel or the movable panel. However, it is preferable to mount the second connector on the stationary panel, and to fixedly mount the first connector, which engages with the second connector, on the movable panel.
When a plurality of connectors are arranged in parallel, it is preferable to integrate the plurality of connectors with a single base plate to form an assembly.
In another aspect of the present invention, a connector assembly is provided. The connector assembly includes a connector having a flange portion that extends outwardly from an outer periphery of the connector and has a first through hole, a base plate having a second through hole that is aligned with the first through hole, an elongate member inserted into the first and second through holes aligned each other, and a spring that is provided around the elongate member and presses that connector toward the base plate so that the base plate and the flange portion contact each other. The spring can be provided so as to extend between the flange portion and a first end portion of the elongate member, or can be provided so as to extend between the flange portion and a second end portion of the elongate member. Furthermore, the elongate member may be formed as a bolt, with the first end being threaded to receive a nut and the second end having a head.
According to the method of mounting a connector of the present invention, the connector is integrated with the base plate and the spring for absorbing an impact force to form an assembly prior to mounting the connector to the panel. Therefore, when the connector is mounted on the panel, the base plate of the assembly is simply fixed to the panel. As a result, the efficiency of the connector mounting operation is substantially improved. Further, because of the reduction of the operational cost, the total cost can be reduced.